Swan-Jones Family Moments
by Disneylover4eva
Summary: A compilation of one-shots featuring Emma, Killian, Henry and their daughter Mara spending time in Storybrooke as a family. Mainly Fluff. Captain Swan next gen story.
1. Bedtime Stories

A subtle creak of the door signaled the entrance of Killian Jones into his and Emma's Storybrooke estate. He tried his best to quietly make his way into the kitchen, setting down the grocery bag of items he picked up at the store before coming home from a late night shift at the station. In the crumpled paper bag rest a box of brown sugar cinnamon pop-tarts, some pancake mix, a pack of extra batteries for Henry's Xbox controllers, and last but not least, a bottle of rum.

Making sure to shut off the kitchen lights after leaving the room, Killian then ventured up the wooden stair steps to join his most likely sleeping wife after a long day at work. Gracefully guiding his hand up the banister to the top of the stairs, he stopped in his tracks as he noticed that there was something off. There was faint trace of light softly spilling out from the last room on the right side of the hall. Perplexed by this, being the great detective he is, he then strode down the hall to investigate further.

Pushing the door wider to gain a better view, Killian Jones froze in his tracks yet again as a wide smile etched upon his face at the loving sight of his wife and his five year old daughter asleep in her twin size bed. He stood there for a quick minute trying to keep this memory to look back upon forever. The picture of Emma's long blonde locks spilling over Mara as their sleeping breaths fell into a perfect synchronization was something he would surely never forget. It was somewhat comical that the theme of his daughter's room that she requested when they redecorated her nursery was mainly focused around Disney princesses and a pinch of nautical theming. It was to no surprise that, despite her grandmother's slight disappointment, Mara's favorite Disney princess was Ariel because as she claims 'is the best because she's the princess of the sea'.

Fumbling with trying to get his iPhone out of his leather pants to snap a quick picture of this, he managed to drop it on the carpeted floor. Cringing at the thought of ruining this special moment, he let out a sigh of relief realizing that his little family was still peacefully snoozing away. After making sure he got the picture, he walked over to his wife and gently shook her on the shoulder in attempt to wake her up.

"Killian, is that you?" Emma questioned rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she carefully sat up making sure to not wake her daughter who was still asleep in her lap with their unfinished bedtime story still grasped in her tiny hand.

"Aye love, it's me" Killian said gazing into her eyes as he brushed a piece of stray hair off from Emma's face and behind her ear.

"I'm not quite sure of how to form an exit plan without waking this one up" she said looking from Killian to their daughter.

"I'll have to agree, love; let's wake her up and tuck her back in for the night" Killian remarked as he scooped Mara off of Emma's lap so she could get up from the puffy pink comforter.

"Daddy?" Mara groggily spoke up from entering the embrace of her father.

"Sorry to wake you, love, but your it's rather late and your mommy has to go back to her bed" Killian explained ruffling his daughters already messy bedhead.

Hearing the joyous sound of laughter coming from his daughter immediately warmed his heart as he gave her a quick tickle before placing her back in her bed, this time now under the covers.

"But I'm not even tired, I wanna finish the story" Mara stated to both of her parents before letting out a large yawn and brushing her raven hair to one side of her head.

Emma reached down and picked up the book that had fell on the floor and handed it to Killan. "Oh, _The Princess and The Frog_. That's a good one lass, but maybe instead of finishing that I can share a shorter; however, more exciting tale" he interjected while flipping through the pages of the book.

Mara bounced up and down and clapped her hands excitedly "Oh yay! Can we do that daddy?"

Emma, in attempt to try to calm her daughter down, sat down next to her and snuggled up ready to listen intently to her husband's story as she was extremely intrigued as well.

With all eyes on him, Killian put _The Princess and the Frog_ book away on the nearby bookshelf and turned to his audience starting his tale off dramatically with "This is the story of how I died."

Just as he was going to proceed, the family turned their attention to the hallway as they were interrupted with a soft knock on the door.

Henry curiously peeked in after hearing noises coming from the room as he was just about to go downstairs to get a glass of water "Uh, hey guys what are you up to?" He questioned.

It was always a treat when Henry would return home from college, and this time he was back home to celebrate Thanksgiving in Storybrooke. Alternating his nights at either Regina's or Killian and Emma's, he was grateful to stumble upon this family moment.

"Hey kid we were just about to hear your father tell an 'exciting' bedtime story. Care to join?" Emma proposed gesturing for her son to sit with them.

"Sure, there's no way I can pass that up" Henry chimed in as he made his way to the foot of his sister's bed and sat crossed legged on the floor paying his attention now to his step father who was standing before him.

"Glad you could join, lad" Killian praised as he patted Henry on the back.

"Ok now where was I?" He pondered scratching the scruff on his chin.

"Oh I know daddy! Once upon a time that's how every story starts" Mara quickly blurted out.

"Aye love it is, but that's not how this one starts. This one is about a cowardly pirate who was quite fond of goats milk and a beautiful princess locked in a tower saved by a noble and valiant young knight " Killian exclaimed giving both Emma and Henry a knowingly look.

Mara was captivated by her father's story. Her green eyes gleamed as she held on to every word. Emma sat there halfway paying attention to Killian's story of their time spent in the heroes versus villains universe, but she mainly focused more on the reactions from her daughter to the story. Not once during this rendition of their past did Emma not sport a smile on her face from looking between her handsome husband and amazing daughter who was such a perfect mix of them both.

By the time the story was almost done, Killian spotted Mara starting to doze off again, even Henry even let out a small yawn which indicted him to quickly wrap it up.

"And it all turned out that it was a basically all dream, but thankfully for the cowardly pirate, not only did the beautiful princess allow him to gain the courage to fight, but she also allowed him to find true love. And they lived happily ever after" Killian finished up returning the prop toy sword he so graciously borrowed from his daughter's toy chest to recreate some of the fighting scenes.

Emma stumbled a tad getting herself up from the bed, as she then reached out her arm to help Henry off of the floor. "Ok gang, I think it's due time we head to bed, don't you say Killian?"

"Aye love, I'd say that 12:30 in the morning is way past this one's bedtime" Kilian said caressing Mara on the cheek.

"Well I'm definitely exhausted, so I'm going to head back to my room. Goodnight guys" Henry concluded as he walked back to the door.

"Oh, by the way, thanks for such a great story Killian. I especially liked the knight he was cool" Henry slyly exclaimed turning around before exiting his sister's room.

"Anytime lad, sleep tight. We'll see you in the morning, I think pancakes are in order for breakfast tomorrow, so be on the lookout for those" he joyously proclaimed.

"Ohhh pancakes yum, I can't wait" Mara sleepily mumbled as her mother hugged her and Killian kissed her goodnight before she flat out crashed from her accumulating tiredness.

Killian chuckled at the fact that despite his daughter's sleepy state, she still had it in her to show excitement about pancakes, which was her favorite food. He then flicked on her swan night light that was behind her tea party table, and escorted his wife out as she turned off Mara's lights.

They both looked back at their daughter, asleep safe and sound, probably dreaming about pirates and princesses right now, and they couldn't help but feel a sense of pride to be able to call themselves her parents.

"I'm so thankful we got this" Emma quietly whispered into her husband's ear as she took his hand in hers.

"And what's that love?" Killian questioned raising an eyebrow.

"Why, our happily ever after of course" Emma stated smiling looking up to Killian.

"Aye love, I consider myself the luckiest man on earth to be able to call you, Henry, and Mara my family, and I wouldn't trade any of this for all the treasure in all the realms" he disclosed before pecking Emma on the lips.

Emma fell into his embrace as she nuzzled her chin into the crook of his neck taking in the familiar scent of him that will always remind her of home.

"Swan, I don't know about you, but I'm ready to call it a night. May I have the honor my lady?" He bowed, being the true gentleman he was, extending his hook to her.

She graciously accepted and the couple finally retired to their bedroom interlocking arms for some much needed sleep. As they fell asleep in each other's arms, they dreamt about the rest of their happy beginning, only to wake up to the sweet aroma of pancakes and hot chocolate with cinnamon made by their wonderful children that awaited them downstairs.


	2. An Adventure Awaits

The crisp autumn leaves dance across the streets of Storybrooke as Killian Jones watched from the window of his and Emma's quaint estate. His attention to the outside scenery was interrupted by the sudden sound of something crashing on the floor in the kitchen. This abrupt outburst alerted him and sent him racing to the scene, as his mind immediately jumped to the worst case scenario.

What welcomed him was the sight of his six year old daughter sitting on the floor covered in Reese's Puffs, surrounded by what appeared to be the bowl she was trying to pour them in and the corresponding cereal box. Killian let out a sigh of relief as he approached his distraught daughter.

"Why lass, what have you gotten yourself into here?" Killian chuckled as he scooped Mara up from off the floor and into his protective embrace.

She sheepishly avoided fessing up to her mistake and hid her face into her father's chest.

"Awe, darling don't worry you're not going to be in any sort of trouble. I promise. And when a Captain makes a promise, he never breaks it" Killian assures while softly rubbing Mara on her back.

"I didn't mean to make a mess, daddy, I was just trying to have breakfast all by myself" Mara apologizes looking back up to Killian, wiping some stray tears from her face.

He sat Mara on the bar stool near the granite island table top and spun her around to face him.

"Now Love, there's no need to be somber about this wee incident, because you're just in luck. You're dashing dad is here to assist his little damsel in distress to clean this up." He reassured, tipping her chin up before momentarily slipping out to obtain the broom and dustpan from the nearby cleaning closet.

Upon returning, he handed Mara the bright yellow dustpan and lifted her up from the barstool and onto the floor to help assist him as he swept stray cereal into the pan. The father daughter duo worked together diligently until the mess was no more.

"See love, there isn't it anything better than when you work as a team to accomplish anything from climbing towering beanstalks to even simply cleaning the kitchen floor" Killian proudly stated gleaming towards Mara.

Her bubbly laughter filled the air as she ran and hugged her father's legs. "Thank you for helping, daddy!"

"Now, how about a proper breakfast, princess?" Killian asked upon hearing the soft grumble coming from his daughter's stomach.

He then proceeded to grab two sets of bowls from the cabinet, two spoons from the silverware drawer, and Frosted Flakes which just happened to be his favorite choice cereal, as all the Reese's Puffs were lost from the kitchen mishap.

Pouring the milk into their bowls and seeing the wide smile on his daughter's face, he thought to himself how lucky he was to be Mara's father and that he wouldn't trade this life he had made with Emma for anything in all the realms.

After finishing their most important meal of the day, Killian thought it would be nice to take Mara out for an adventure, as he liked to call it, to the park to spend some quality father daughter bonding, as Emma was on call today at the station.

"What do you say, Love, that today we go on a little adventure? Would you be up for it Miss Mara?" He gallantly asked bowing down before his daughter.

Her face lit up as she graciously took her father's hand as he guided her off from her chair.

"Why of course daddy, I love any adventure, especially if it's with you" she eagerly exclaimed poking him once on the nose.

They both gathered their coats, Killian being the gentleman he was, helped Mara put on her rather puffy pink coat as he noticed her struggling finding her other arm hole. When they were both bundled up Killian opened the door and they stepped into the brisk and windy environment that Friday fall morning had to offer.

Killian led Mara hand in hand to the rather bare garage and noticed that their only option of transportation to the park was the red wagon that sat in the corner because Emma had taken the famous yellow bug to work. Even if the car were here, Killian would not even consider taking that death trap of a contraption out for a drive because he still has not yet gotten used to understanding the stick shift.

Pulling the red radio flyer out from the now even more empty garage, he lifted Mara up into it and gently wrapped her up in a couple of soft fleece blankets. He did not want to risk Mara catching a cold because he knew that he would never hear the end of that from his wife.

Strolling down the sidewalks of Storybrooke with his daughter safely in tow, they made their way to the park for a hopeful day of fun ahead of them.

An hour at the park swinging as Killian diligently pushed from behind, playing with pretend swords made out of nearby fallen branches, and climbing all over the wooden play structure was all about Killian could handle before a marvelous idea popped into his head.

"Mara, what do you say instead of playing pirate here, we make our way to the Jolly Roger and I help you captain a real ship?" He intriguingly asked after catching Mara as she slid down from the twisting slide.

"Oh can we daddy?!" Mara blurted out. She had spent the day spinning the plastic wheel on the playground imagining she was a daring pirate captain, but she always was more fond of when her father took her out to the Jolly to get a chance to truly be out on the sea.

"Yes of course, anything for you, Love" He lovingly beamed before placing her in the wagon yet again to travel onwards to their next adventure.

The duo then proceeded to the docks to spend the rest of the afternoon out in the harbor.

Killian parked the wagon next to a nearby bench and lifted his daughter up onto his shoulders as they boarded the mighty ship.

To Killian, this ship held memories of his past and of his brother Liam, but now he was more eager to make new memories with Mara by his side and seeing the sheer delight on her face while sailing on the open sea.

He laughed to himself after letting Mara down and seeing her immediately being drawn to the wheel of the ship as she tried her best to reach up to get a firm grasp on it.

"Mara dear, slow down. You can't steer the ship yet before hoisting the sails and pulling up the anchor. If you are to be the captain, then you should know these things. Luckily you have the most skilled pirate that has ever sailed the seven seas with you to show you the ropes" Killian pointed out.

Together, well more effort from Killan than Mara, they got the Jolly in ship-shape to spend the rest of the day sailing. He was proud that Mara had such a keen interest in sailing and the sea, and could just tell that when she was older, she would be just as or even more proficient as he was at captaining the Jolly.

Time flew by as he taught Mara to sail, luckily he had checked his watch and noticed that it was drawing near to lunch time, so he brought the Jolly Roger back to the docks, much to Mara's dismay.

"Now lass, we can always take her out again anytime we want. It's getting a tad more cold, and I think your mother wanted to meet us at Granny's for lunch soon" he remarked, noticing the frown upon her face.

The second he said Granny's, Mara's mood turned around as she, like her mother, was always excited for food, especially from Granny's as that was her favorite place to go.

The sound of the bell chime welcomed Killian and Mara into Granny's as the delightful aroma of Granny's lasagna freshly out of the oven overwhelmed their senses. The familiar streak of blonde hair sitting in the back most booth caused Mara to bolt over with joy and jump on her mother as she gave her a large hug.

"Well, it's nice to see you two made it. What were you guys up today?" Emma inquired stroking her daughter's long raven locks.

"Oh the usual, Swan" Killian replied as he bent down to give her a quick kiss.

"Yeah mommy, we went on an adventure!" Mara exclaimed as her mother scooched down giving Mara some room in the booth to sit.

"And what kind of adventure did your father have in store for you today?" She asked glancing over to Killian as he sat across from them.

"Well we went to the park and played and then decided to have a quick outing on the Jolly Roger" he happily replied reaching over to the menu.

"It was amazing!" Mara blurted out as she bounced up and down in her seat.

"Sounds like quite a day" Granny chimed in as she happened to hear the family's conversation upon heading to their table to ask for their order and place three hot chocolates with cinnamon in front of them.

"Thank you, and it turned out to be a lovely day" Killian added looking between his gorgeous wife and daughter.

"Now what can I get for you?" Granny said pulling out a pad of paper from her apron and a pen from behind her ear awaiting their order.

"Oh, just the usual" Emma replied knowing that Granny was quite familiar with their food preferences since they frequented the establishment many days a week.

"Ok, so burger for Killian, a grilled cheese for Emma, chicken tenders for Mara, and finally a order of onion rings for the table as an appetizer" Granny confirms, not even writing down a single word on the pad.

"You got it" Emma affirmed before taking a sip of her hot chocolate.

"It'll be right out for you guys" Granny said making her way back to the counter.

Killian nodded and then reached out to take his wife's hand in his. "You missed quite the adventure, Swan" he noted stroking his fingers across her palm.

"I'm sure I did, but that's ok because everyday with you and Mara is an adventure in itself and I'm sure there are more to come" she fondly replied, gazing into his eyes.

"Aye Love, that there are."


	3. Why We're Thankful

The sound of rickety wheels rolling down the freshly mopped aisle echoed throughout the supermarket. It was Thanksgiving Day and Killian Jones found himself last minute shopping for items to prepare for the family gathering at the Charming's farmhouse. Mara enthusiastically asked to tag along, and Killian could not say no to her famous puppy dog pout.

"Oh, daddy can we get those?!" Mara begged pointing to a bag of pink marshmallows on the adjacent side of the aisle, causing Killian to lose his focus of searching all the brightly packaged boxes for the brand of stuffing Emma requested.

"Love, we've got to keep on track with this list if we want to make it to grandma and grandpa Charming's on time" Killian declared, causing his daughter to sulk in the seat of the cart.

He could not stand anymore of Mara displaying such a sullen mood, so he decided to appease her and placed the bag of pink marshmallows into the cart.

"Yay! Thank you daddy!" Mara rejoiced clapping her small hands together. "I promise to be extra helpful now" she added, causing Killian to arch his eyebrows wondering if that would actually be true.

"Aye Love, now let's get back to it shall we? Next on your mother's list is something called cranberry sauce, so the search continues!" Killian excitedly bursted out pushing the cart at a faster pace pointing to the 'horizon' of the aisle. Mara laughed at her father's remark and joyously played along with his game as they ventured around the store looking for cranberry sauce.

Strolling through a couple more aisles, the father and daughter duo finally found their treasure.

"Lookie here Mara, X marks the spot" Killian boasted as he gestured to the variety of canned cranberries. He then picked up a can to get a better look at what product his wife desired. "Well, this doesn't look appetizing now does it? Who would bloody well eat cranberries from a tin can?" Killian inquired stroking the scruff on his chin.

"Daddy, mommy said you weren't suppose' to say that" Mara scolded at her father's use of the word 'bloody'.

Killian cursed under his breath knowing he was going to get a talking to for this as his daughter was fond of sharing everything with Emma, but suddenly a great idea popped into his head.

"Now lass, how about we stop by and look at the sweets on our way out and we don't mention that little hiccup to your mother?" Killian mused hoping his daughter would comply.

Being the five-year-old she was, Mara wholeheartedly went with that plan as she knew she had her father wrapped around her tiny finger.

Killian and Mara journeyed onwards working towards checking the various items on Emma's list as they made a fun scavenger hunt out of it. The sights of so many different options of food and other products packaged in such strange, colorful wrappings adorning interesting names such as pringles, spam, and oreos overwhelmed Killian, as he was still getting used to all the modern commodities that came with Storybrooke; however, a familiar sight made him stop in his tracks.

He reached out into the refrigerated shelf and picked up a pack of green cups of substance. "I know this is not on the list, but I'd say we can't return home without these small cups of healing goodness" Killian noted showing his daughter the package of Jell-O in his grip.

"What's so special about it?" Mara inquired tilting her head.

Killian chuckled softly, thinking back to his days in the hospital being first introduced to this odd food substance.

"Once, when your dear ole' dad was sick in the hospital, your mother gave me some of this and like magic, I was all better again" he reminisced before placing a couple packs of different colored Jell-O into the cart.

"With colder weather drawing near, it would be best to keep some in stock at home in case anyone of us catches a cold. Rather be safe than sorry, right lass?" Killian expressed.

"Looks yummy to me!" Mara replied being more interested with the vibrant colors and jiggly nature of the Jell-O, rather than the healing purposes her father had just explained.

After about a half an hour spent at the store, Killian and Mara packed up the bug with their goodies and happily made their way back to the house.

Mara was a tremendous help in unloading, as Killian watched her strategically choose to carry the bag containing the gummy worms she picked out and the pink marshmallows in it. He laughed at seeing his daughter eagerly hurry inside with her treats as he managed to grab the rest of the haul from the trunk.

Entering inside and hearing the loud thud of the front door shutting behind him, the sound of Mara's voice carried from the kitchen as he could hear her tell Emma the adventure they both had at the supermarket.

"Oh, your father said what now?" Emma questioned as she shot her husband a glare when he plopped the grocery bags on the counter.

"Ah, Mara I thought we weren't going to share that with mommy, right?" He pondered while watching his daughter try to open the pack of gummy worms.

"Uh oh, sorry daddy" Mara guiltily replied before gently setting the bag of candy down.

"It's alright darling, mommy appreciates to know these things" Emma chimed in reassuringly rubbing Mara on her back.

After the family unloaded the groceries, Emma sent Killian and Mara upstairs to get dressed in their more fancier outfits than his current leather ensemble and her Sofia The First t-shirt.

Emma, being already dressed and ready, took it upon herself to ready the food to bring over to her parents while she waited. She was just about to put the last can of cranberries into the decorative glass bowl, until she was alerted by the pitter patter of Mara's feet bounding down the stairs.

"Mommy look how pretty I look!" Mara passionately declared as she twirled around in her velvet green dress.

Trailing her, Killian, wearing navy dress pants and a white sweater, met Mara downstairs and picked her up as they graciously spun around together keeping the momentum up.

"My dear, you do look lovely. May I have this dance?" He sweetly asked as he gently placed her down on the wooden floor.

Mara instinctively stepped onto her father's shoes and they waltzed their way around the dining room joyously laughing out in glee.

Emma luckily managed to capture the entire scene on her iPhone as she smiled to herself taking in this cherished moment. Once the dance was over, she then put her phone away, thus keeping this memory in her pocket forever.

Glancing at the clock, Emma saw that it was now 2pm and they would be late to the Charming's Thanksgiving meal.

"As much fun as that was, I'd say it's time for the Jones' to continue the fun and head over to grandma and grandpa's" she spoke out glancing over at the clock and then to Killian alerting his attention to the time.

"Aye, come on my loves it's time to set sail to our next heading" he boasted nudging Mara in the direction of the door after helping Emma grab the food on the table.

The family of three managed to get out the door, into the yellow bug, and make their way to the Charming's in record time only arriving 20 minutes late to the gathering.

Making their way up to the porch of the white farmhouse, they were greeted by a broadly smiling Mary Margaret welcoming their arrival.

"Nice to see you guys made it in one piece" she pointed out subtly noticing their lateness.

"Yeah, sorry about that mom. We were a tad held up by a dancing outburst and forgot the time" Emma apologized as she adjusted the weight of the dish of food in her arms.

Snow, upon hearing this, immediately forgave her daughter and gestured them into the homely estate.

"I'll send you the video soon" Emma whispered into her mother's ear as she made her way through the threshold.

"Can't wait" Snow merrily grinned as she helped Emma by taking all of the dishes from her into the kitchen.

The commotion from the dining room was quite the spectacle as the Charming's had invited _all_ their family to the feast. Killian was quickly greeted by 8-year-old Neal latching onto his leg, as the boy had a great likeness to his 'uncle' Killian.

"You made it!" Neal happily exclaimed before being unhooked from Killian by his father.

"Now Neal, give him some personal space, he just got here" David suggested.

"That's perfectly alright. It's good to see you lad, and you too mate" Killian mentioned to both Neal and David.

After Neal apologized to Killian per his father's request, he grabbed Mara and whisked her away to play with him, Gideon, and Robyn in the family room.

After Emma and Killian got all caught up with everyone, Snow shouted out from the kitchen that the meal was ready and asked them to be seated.

Granny and Snow started bringing out the bountiful feast that they prepared from the kitchen to the dining room as everyone began to sit down in their assigned seats.

Glancing around the table, Mara was placed in the middle of all the people she loved in Storybrooke. To her left sat her father and to her right was her mother. Her aunt Regina and uncle Robin with both Roland and Henry were sitting across from them, along with her aunt Zelena sitting next to her daughter Robyn. Of course, her grandma and grandpa Charming sat at the ends of the table with Neal bouncing in his seat anticipating all the food he was going to consume. So many other guests were present as well such as Granny, the dwarves, and even Rumple and Belle came along with their son Gideon that the table had to be extended.

"To our family" Snow toasted indicating the feast to begin.

"Our family" everyone echoed raising their glasses before the symphony of sounds of metal clanking silverware filled the room.

Just as Killian was about to lift a forkful of turkey in his mouth, he was interrupted by the tugging of his sweater. To no surprise, when he looked down, he found his daughter wide eyed looking up at him.

"Aye, what is it Love?" He softly questioned as he bent down to her level continuing the conversation.

"Why is it called Thanksgiving daddy?" She inquisitively replied awaiting his response.

"Well lass, I think it's because we all come together as family and friends and say what we are all thankful for" he answered trying his best to explain it to his young, insightful daughter.

She sat there for a second pondering her father's response before asking: "What are you thankful for daddy?"

He looked around at his newfound family and to his wife that he had adored since the moment he laid eyes on her, and back again to his daughter. "Well Love, I'd say I'm most thankful for you" he replied, giving her a quick poke on her tummy causing her to laugh out.

"How about you, Love? What are you most thankful for?" He asked.

"I'm most thankful for Jell-O!" She proudly announced back to him.

This set the whole table into laughter as they had been secretly honing in to their conversation.

"Of course you are lass" Killian chuckled before nuzzling her up in his embrace.


	4. Secrets & Surprises

Two pink lines. That was all it took to send Emma into a complete worry. She was found sitting on the bathroom floor leaning her back up against the bathtub, her eyes directed straight into the pregnancy test she was holding. Her thoughts to this sudden discovery were all jumbled in her head. She was surprised, to say the least, as Killian and she had not been trying for a baby, yet she was still kind of joyful seeing the results. Thinking back to her time first spent with Henry in Storybrooke, she remembered how bad it felt to miss out on raising him, but now she finally had a chance to give this child everything she wanted to give to Henry.

The other thing now in her mind was how Killian would take the news. Would he be happy to start a family with her? Or would he think that he's not quite ready yet to raise a child? Emma has seen how great a step father he is with Henry, so why shouldn't he be ready to take on the role of a father with their child?

Emma knew one thing for certain, and that was she should quit debating her future and playing out different scenarios in her head, get up from the bathroom floor, and do something about it. And that was when she decided she needed some more advice on this topic, and who better to go to for advice than her mother?

Before leaving, she made sure to hide the pregnancy test to the best of her ability if Killian happened to come back to the house on his lunch break and find it. The most satisfactory hiding place she could think of in a hurry was burying it in her sock drawer and for extra concealment, she wrapped it up in toilet paper. She then grabbed her red leather jacket, slipped on her boots, and made her way out the door.

Fiddling with the keys in her pocket, she finally managed to grasp onto her familiar swan key chain that held the key to her famous yellow Volkswagen bug.

Hopping into the comfortable driver's seat she knew all too well, she quickly buckled up, turned the key in the ignition, and eased her foot on the gas starting her journey to the Charming's farmhouse that lay just on the outskirts of the town.

Not even bothering to knock, she correctly presumed that the door would be open, as she knew her mother had the day off from teaching, she graciously welcomed herself into the house.

"Mom, it's me. Where are you?" She yelled out, taking off her jacket and throwing it on the blue loveseat in the adjacent family room.

"I'm in the office dear" Mary Margaret lively replied just loud enough for Emma to hear from downstairs.

Making her way upstairs, the sound of Emma's quickly paced steps on the hardwood spiral staircase echoed throughout the house.

Entering the office, she found Mary Margaret sitting at her desk working on her laptop. "Emma, what a pleasant surprise. I didn't know you were coming over" Mary Margaret chipperly replied looking up from her computer.

"Yeah, I wasn't planning on stopping by, but something came up and I need your advice" Emma said blatantly, pulling up a chair from the corner of the room up to her desk and took a seat.

"Well, I was just working on lessons for next week for my class on North American birds, but I will always make time for you. So, what's up?" She inquired, scooting her chair closer, allowing her to focus all her attention on her daughter.

Emma took in a deep breath before starting her conversation, "Err, well mom, today I found out something a bit alarming and I have decided to share it with you hoping to get some advice about this predicament." She nervously spoke up, trying her best to maintain eye contact, but ultimately failing as she found herself glancing to and from the giant blue bird painting on the wall which was quite distracting.

"And what predicament would this be?" Mary Margaret replied inquisitively, raising an eyebrow as she took a sip of her coffee from her stainless-steel thermos.

"I guess to just lay it out plain and simple…I'm pregnant" Emma blatantly blurted out causing Mary Margaret to choke a bit on her drink.

"Really?! Emma congrats that's great news!" She excitedly announced before getting up to hug her daughter.

Emma awkwardly accepted her hug and let out a nervous laugh indicating that the hug was lasting a little too long. Mary Margaret took the hint and returned back to her chair, but the bright smile she had from the news still had not left her face.

"Emma, I'm so happy for you! Wait, does Killian know yet?" She said as her expression suddenly changed from ecstatic to concerned.

Emma shifted slightly in her seat before saying, "Funny you should mention that because that was why I came to see you, actually"

Mary Margaret gave her a worrisome look and they both sat in silence before Emma decided to continue.

"I haven't told Killian yet because I'm unsure of how he is going to take it. I just feel like this is such a big responsibility, and it was not like we were planning to have a kid yet, so what if he isn't ready?" Emma hesitantly admitted.

"Oh Emma, I am sure Killian will love to find out that he is going to be a father. There's no need to stress and worry. Just tonight, or whenever you're ready, bring it out in the open. I'm positive he will take it quite well" she replied reassuringly, reaching out to grab Emma's hand.

Emma grinned at Mary Margaret's kind motherly gesture as she finally felt like she had the confidence and assurance to tell Killian the news that they would soon welcome their child into the world.

"Thanks mom. I always knew you would say exactly what I needed right now" she beamed before getting up, ready to finally face her husband.

"Anytime Emma, I'm glad you came to me first" Mary Margaret resounded looking back up at Emma.

Just as Emma was about to exit her office and into the hallway, a thought popped into her head.

"Hey mom, could you maybe keep this news on the down low for me? I don't want Killian to find out until I tell him, and I know once this is out, it will spread like wildfire" she laughed out then turned around and made her way back down the stairs and out to her bug.

And a wildfire it was. Mary Margaret could not contain her excitement once discovering Emma's secret, so later that day while picking her lunch up at Granny's, she accidentally let it slip out while conversing with Granny.

She immediately knew when she revealed the news that she had made a mistake and regretted it. Attempting to fix her mistake, she made Granny promise not to tell, but Granny was known to gossip around town, and not to mention the diner bystanders who just happened to eavesdrop on their conversation who knew the secret as well.

The news spread fast as everyone in Storybrooke were so close, they were either related or really good friends with each other, that by 2pm the entire town knew; well, except for Killian thankfully. But he was hearing strange things being said to him by the townsfolk as he was out on patrol that made him curious.

Like any day working at the station, Killian frequently liked to ditch sitting at the desk doing paperwork, and venture out to the town to go on patrol and get some fresh air as he could escape the mundane police station. When he did this, Emma would usually scold him and tell him to focus on his task at hand, but this time Emma was back at their home on her day off, so Killian took it upon himself to take a stroll around Storybrooke.

His favorite destination to venture off first was the docks to breathe in the calming scent of the sea breeze. To no surprise, not much was going on, much less anything that needed a sheriff's attention, but he still enjoyed coming out to see the familiar sight of the Jolly again.

All the sudden he was greeted by a pat on his back, causing him to turn around. To his surprise, he found his old mate Captain Nemo warmly welcoming him.

"Good to see you again old friend" Nemo smiled shaking Killian's hand.

"It's nice to see you too, mate. What kind of adventures have you been up to?" Killian inquired, still sort of shaken up by seeing Captain Nemo again.

"Well, the Nautilus came into port about a week ago from our voyage searching the depths, looking for the lost city Atlantis. Unfortunately, we were at a loss; however, it was a rather grand adventure" he proudly stated.

"Good to hear, sounds like quite the tale" Killian responded before being interrupted by Nemo.

"Oh, by the way I just happened to hear the good news and wish you congratulations" he happily exclaimed, patting Killian on the shoulder. "But I best be off, the crew and I have a lot more supplies to load up for our next voyage; good luck my boy. I'm sure our adventure is nothing compared to the one you're about to embark on" he continued before heading back to his submarine at the other end of the dock.

Killian waved goodbye, but was ultimately left confused at what his past Captain was congratulating him on. He eventually shrugged it off, and continued to make his rounds, before saying a quick goodbye to the Jolly as well.

Next up, Killian decided to walk into the heart of Storybrooke; right down Main Street, as he thought more commotion could be found. 'Maybe Grumpy was wreaking havoc at the Rabbit Hole or something?' He thought to himself.

He was admiring all the Christmas decorations that started to pop up at the various shops and establishments as the town was eager to celebrate the holidays as soon as Thanksgiving was over. So far, not much was out of the ordinary, so he continued to make his way down the street.

Just as he passed Sneezy's convenience store, the sound of the bell on the door chimed as Archie was exiting holding a white plastic bag containing his latest purchases.

"Why hello there officer Jones, lovely day isn't it?" Dr. Hopper called out halting Killian in his tracks to stop and make small talk.

"Aye, it is indeed a wonderful day, with everyone in the holiday spirit and all" Killian graciously replied.

"Very true. I hear your Christmas gift just happened to come early. Aren't you the lucky one!" Archie congratulated him with a smile etched on his face.

"Um, I don't know what you quite mean by that, mate?" Killian perplexingly questioned as he tilted his head slightly.

"Ah, nonsense my good man. I have to run though, I have an appointment at 3:30 that I must rush back for. Have a great rest of your day; however, I don't see it getting any better from the glorious news." He quickly resounded, patting Killian on the back before parting ways to head to his office.

This left Killian in an even more flustered state. Two times this day people had congratulated him on something he had not known a reason behind their excitement. He stood there lost in thought while he pondered on what everyone must be referring to. He ended up reaching no logical conclusion, so he decided to trek onwards hoping to find some other excitement elsewhere.

Before his shift ended at 5pm, Killian encountered a handful of more strange and vague congratulations and kind gestures from various Storybrooke citizens. He was still at a loss for any explanation behind it, but he thought that Emma would possibly have some answers when he returned home and shared the tale of his interesting day.

"Emma, I'm home!" he declared upon entering their home, as he hung up his coat on the nearby rack and then peeked into the family room.

"In the dining room" Emma's voice traveled through the house indicating her presence.

Killian let out a sigh of relief, as it was unusual to find Emma not on the couch watching T.V on her days off when he arrived home.

He kicked off his work boots and made his way to his lovely awaiting wife. Once he entered the dining room, he could feel the mood in the room seem a tad tense. He wasn't sure what was up, but he could just tell something was off.

"Are you alright, Love?" He asked Emma before taking a seat next to her at the neatly set cherry oak table.

"Yup, I'm fine. How was work today? Did I miss anything exciting?" She questioned trying to put off the baby news for a little bit longer.

"Nothing that exciting, but it was a quite peculiar day. People around town kept congratulating me, which was the oddest thing. Have any ideas on that, Swan?" He inquired furrowing his brow.

"Crap, Mary Margaret. Of course she'd spill the beans" she cursed under her breath which sounded like incoherent mumbling to Killian.

"What was that, Love? Didn't quite catch all of that" he commented as he rubbed her back.

"Oh nothing, just remind me to give my mother I stern talking to when we see her again" she chuckled, tucking a loose piece of her blond hair behind her ear as she leaned back into her chair.

At this moment Emma decided to be brave and get it over with. She had defeated dragons, demons, and the worst of some villains, but this obstacle was still something standing in her way.

She took a deep breath in before grabbing a small pink wrapped box from underneath the table adorning a blue bow on its top and slid it over to Killian.

"What's this, Love? I seem to recall that Christmas is still in 20 days." He confusedly mentioned.

"Just open it. I hope you like it" she claimed as she awaited his reaction to what lay inside.

He cautiously untied the bow and neatly took off the wrapping paper before popping off the top of the square shaped gift box. He glanced at his wife one last time before finally looking at the surprise that was inside.

An audible gasp emitted from Killian as he unwrapped the pregnancy test that Emma had taken earlier that day. "Is it true Swan? I'm going to be a father? We're going to have a child?" He nervously asked.

"Yeah, I found out today and wanted to wait till you came home to share the news" she responded still unsure about his feelings towards it. "Are you okay with it?" She just had to ask as she reached for his hand.

"Oh, Swan, I'm more than okay. I'm so happy right now!" His face lit up immediately upon saying that and got up to engulf his wife in a huge hug.

"I'm glad you're taking it so well!" She laughed giddily as he picked her up and spun her around in his arms.

"Of course I'm taking it well, I can't wait to start a family with you" He lovingly replied before eagerly planting a kiss onto her lips.

Emma melted into the kiss and felt like she was on cloud nine in this beautiful moment. She didn't want it to end anytime soon.

As they finally parted she remembered what he had previously asked her. "Hey, well I think we solved the mystery behind your unknown congratulations. And I can't but feel responsible for that." She admitted.

"Aye, how did your news get spread across town so fast?" He responded as he too came out of their blissful euphoria.

"Well, I had told my mom after I found out and I guess that she had let it slip out sometime today. And you know this town; news travels fast" she confessed biting her lip.

"It all makes so much sense now, Love. Well, even though I was probably the last to know, I'm still glad I got to hear the final news from you" he replied, softly kissing her on the cheek.

"Also" he added "I always knew someday you'd have a little pirate in you, Swan" he proudly exclaimed thinking back to their time spent time traveling in the past.

"Speaking of which, what do you hope for? A little princess or pirate?" Emma mentioned as they fell back into their seats.

"Well, I'm fine as long as it's healthy, but if I were to have a preference, I'd long for a little lass I guess" he shyly admitted as he reached his hand out to rub Emma's, not even close to showing, belly.

"Well, whatever gender it is, I'm sure you'll be a wonderful father. I can't wait to meet our little one and start our family" Emma spoke out coming to terms with her even more bright future that awaited her.

"Aye, there would be no better adventure to go on with you Swan than the joyous experience of parenthood" he said wrapping his arms around her as she snuggled up into him.

After a few minutes spent together content like that, a thought popped into Emma's head.

"Now, how do we properly tell everyone about our good news? And even more challenging, how should we tell Henry?" She questioned looking up to Killian for his answer.

"I'd say nothing would confirm our news better than a party at Granny's. Wouldn't you say, Swan? Gather our family, friends and basically the rest of the town to announce the great news" he said running his fingers through her hair as she rested her head upon his shoulder.

"Sounds good to me" she smiled excitedly looking forward to the nine months that would lie ahead to the welcoming of their child into Storybrooke.

She could just see it now: Killian and her raising a daughter of their own together and seeing Killian be such a caring and protective father to her. As she too had hoped for a daughter as well. This was going to be a Christmas they'd always remember.


	5. Believe in Holiday Magic

It was two nights before Christmas Eve and Mara Jones found herself lost deep in thought, as she watched the glistening white snow fall outside the nearby window, sitting on the red couch next to their festively decorated family Christmas tree. She always loved this time of year as she was able to spend quality time with her family and extended family going to holiday parties, exchanging gifts, baking and decorating cookies, and participating in heavily competitive snowball fights. However, something about this year at Christmas time felt different. Being now ten years old, Mara had begun to be quite skeptical of the holly, jolly man himself: Santa Claus. She couldn't help but to hear around school from her classmates and friends that they too had been convinced that Santa was indeed a myth.

Now, both of her parents had noticed over the past few days that their young daughter had been acting peculiar and out of her usual joyful holiday spirit. Killian and Emma sat at the kitchen table, each with a cup of freshly brewed coffee in their hands, as they worriedly looked across the hall at their daughter looking gloomy as she swung her feet back and forth on the couch.

"What do you think we should do about this, Love?" Killian asked his wife, no longer standing the silence in the house.

Emma sighed, "I have no idea what's up with her. It's so hard seeing her like this. Maybe we should just ask her about it?" She suggested, as she fiddled her fingers across her mug.

Killian met her gaze after being preoccupied by the solemn sight of Mara before replying, "Agreed Swan. That may be best."

Just as they both were about to get up from their seats, they were interrupted as Henry came cheerfully bounding in from the front door. Even though he was almost thirty, he never missed a Christmas holiday vacation with his family in Storybrooke. Still to this day, he has kept his promise to both of his mothers and spends his time staying over at both of their houses for half the holiday.

"Hey guys! What are you up to on this winter wonderland of a night?" He exclaimed cheerfully with a big grin on his face as he brushed the snow from his black peacoat, before setting some nicely wrapped presents on the small glass table by the door.

Mara looked up over her shoulder, as she heard the commotion of her big brother's entrance, but didn't run to greet him like usual, instead she remained in her seat and went back to looking at the frosty scene outside.

"What's wrong with-" Henry began to question, before he was interrupted by Emma and Killian hushing him as they quickly guided him to the kitchen.

He was extremely concerned by how strange his parents were acting, but he wasted no time asking more questions as they quietly explained to him what was happening with Mara right after they sat him down.

Henry had to sit there for a couple of minutes to take it all in. He couldn't believe it either, but he had a great idea that had just popped into his head.

"I think I've got this handled guys" he confidently grinned, having complete faith in his plan.

"Really kid, You're up for this? I mean I trust you, but shouldn't this be a task for her parents to deal with?" Emma remarked, placing her hand on his back.

Henry smiled and looked back up at them, "Yeah. There's nothing her big brother can't do to keep her spirits up" he proudly stated before making his way to the family room.

Approaching the couch, Henry carefully took a seat next to Mara and squeezed her into a one-armed hug. "How's my favorite sister doing?" He happily greeted as he tickled her, causing Mara to laugh out.

"Henry, I'm your only sister. You know that!" She jokingly pointed out nudging him.

"Hey, there's that smile that I love to see" he beamed trying to get his little sister to elaborate more on what has been getting her down.

His presence didn't seem to keep Mara happily smiling for long, as she resumed to look down at her feet once Henry asked her the question that was on everyone's mind: "So Mara, our parents and I have been noticing that you've been a little out of it lately. Any reason to why that is? Can I help in any way?" Henry cautiously inquired, placing his hand on her shoulder, showing that he was there to support her.

Mara thought about if she wanted to tell Henry that she had been questioning Santa's existence, but she eventually concluded that she could trust her brother and then realized that he could possibly help with her predicament.

"Well, some kids at school have been talking," she replied, still gloomily looking down at the floor.

"And what were they talking about, exactly?" Henry asked trying to engage Mara into opening up to him.

She then slowly looked up at him before confessing, "They all say that Santa isn't real, and I don't know what to think" She sniffled.

A twinge of pain hit Henry, as he knew how much Mara loved Santa Claus, and he could tell that this was why she had been not herself lately. He also figured out that this was around the age that kids would stop believing in Santa, but luckily for her, she had the heart of the truest believer for a big brother to convince her otherwise.

"You know, when I was about your age I had to believe in something that no one else did. It was hard to do, especially when the whole town and the people you loved didn't think the way you did." He stated as he recalled back to when he was young and tried to convince everyone in the town that they were fairytale characters under a curse.

Mara's face lit up as she too had heard this tale countless of times from Henry and her parents as they had read her the storybook growing up. She had held onto every word in that book so close to her heart and loved hearing all the exciting adventures of her family's past and the story behind her parents' romance.

"Do you mean when you found mom and had to make her believe too?" She spoke out, sitting more upright and attentive in her seat.

"Exactly. And that's what makes our situations so similar, Mara; so, tell me… do you trust what your classmates are saying, or do you still want to believe?" He concerningly asked.

"Well, I want to believe, but they have a good point. I've never seen Santa ever and he's not even in the book, so how can he be real?" She curiously responded.

Henry let out a sigh, as he could see how these questions would cause Mara's belief to cease.

"Mara sometimes seeing isn't always believing, and just because someone's not in the storybook, doesn't mean they don't exist either" he tried to explain. "I mean, you're not in the book and you're real. Aren't you?" he laughed pointing out, as he poked her on the stomach to make sure she was indeed 'real'.

"I guess" she declared as she chuckled out at his funny notion.

"Also, your dad's Captain Hook and your mom is the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, to others that may sound a little unbelievable, but you know it's true, so why can't Santa be?" Henry encouraged as he reached out to her.

Once hearing Henry's revelations, Mara found herself becoming less skeptical and was truly thankful for her brother assuring her that she did not have to feel silly anymore for believing in Santa. To share her appreciation, she immediately gave him a big hug as she thanked him for being there for her.

"You're very welcome, kid" he lovingly replied as they shared their hug. It was then that another thought popped in his head and he momentarily excused himself as he got up and went to grab a present on the table.

Getting up, he had noticed both Emma and Killian had been peeking their heads in the family room, as they had been trying their best to eavesdrop into their children's conversation. He simply smiled and gave them a thumbs up after they had mouthed if everything was alright.

Returning back to the couch, he placed the present in Mara's lap and raised his brows as he anxiously awaited her response from opening it.

"What's this? It's not even Christmas yet." Mara puzzled as she tilted her head, grasping the thin square shaped gift in her hands.

"I figured this gift would be quite appropriate after our little conversation, so just think of it as an early Christmas gift from your favorite big brother" he excitedly announced.

She beamed at his thoughtful gesture, and began to enthusiastically rip open the wrapping paper. And what she found was that the wrappings revealed a book underneath called 'A Christmas Wish'.

Henry scooted closer to her and graced his fingers across the cover of the book. "This book is very special to me, well maybe not as special as the official storybook, but still a close second. You see, when I was young and before I met our mom, Regina used to read me this story every year around Christmas. It was a tradition for me, and I was hoping it could be a tradition for you too" he suggested, thinking back to all the good memories the book had given him as a child.

"I have a better idea. It can be our new tradition!" Mara gleefully announced, practically jumping in her seat.

"You know what? That sounds like a wonderful idea" Henry replied, sporting a huge smile upon his face as he patted her on the back.

And just like that, the brother and sister tradition of reading 'A Christmas Wish' had begun as Henry opened the book to its first page and read aloud "Once upon a time".

As he fished the Christmas tale, it ended with the star on top of the main character's tree lighting up after Santa had given the family with a bountiful array of gifts.

Thankfully, Emma and Killian couldn't help but watch this loving scene between their children unfold before their eyes. As Henry had closed the book finishing his tale, Emma took it upon herself to use her magic to light their star on the tree. She hadn't used her magic in a while, as there were no frequent threats from villains or monsters in Storybrooke anymore, but she thought that this special moment could use a touch of Christmas magic. Just as she predicted, Mara's face lit up at this glorious spectacle and she could feel the Christmas belief and joy surrounding her daughter.

Killian took Emma's hand and eagerly pulled her to join their children and experience this grand holiday moment together as a family. The family snuggled up on the couch together, admiring the tree and discussed their exciting forthcoming Christmas plans. Mara looked around at her family and couldn't imagine being anywhere else but here in that moment, as she felt more in the holiday spirit now than ever.

Soon, they had discovered that it was getting quite late. Mara found herself dozing off on Henry's lap, so Killian lifted her off from the couch and took her upstairs to bed. The rest of the family followed closely behind to help tuck her in. Henry was the last to place a kiss upon her forehead as she drifted away into a peaceful slumber of probable gumdrops dancing around in her head. He then wished a Happy Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight.


	6. Be Mine

Every chance he could, Killian would make sure to be available to greet Mara off the big, yellow school bus. Emma and him set up schedules at work for at least one of them to be home once their young daughter arrived home from school, so this meant that every other day Mara would joyously spring into the embrace of her father's arms as soon as she stepped down onto the sidewalk that lay a block ahead of their house.

This day; however, Killian noticed that something was on his daughter's mind as they strolled hand-in-hand back to their Storybrooke home. Usually, she was quite talkative as she would excitedly chatter away about her always eventful day at school. Now, with Mara being in Kindergarten, the conversation topics mostly ranged from painting birdhouses to what games she had partook in during recess with the other children.

Killian could not stand the strangely silent walk home any longer, so he took it upon himself to inquire what was the matter with his daughter.

"Had a good day at school today, Love?" He asked, adjusting his view from the bitter cold February scenery in front of him to his small daughter.

"It was okay I guess." She hesitantly stated as she continued the journey home at her gradual pace, never even looking up from the thin layer of snow under her steps.

Killian took some time to think of what could be wrong with Mara's day at school. For all he knew it was a Friday and they were scheduled to make cookies as a class. He definitely knew his daughter loved baking and eating sugary treats, so why was her current expression so solemn? He thought to himself as he just listened to the wind wisp through the bare tree branches and the crisp crunch of the snow under both of their boots as they made their way home.

To his surprise, Mara interrupted their silent journey, she spoke up while they climbed the stairs leading up to the large white entry door.

"Today we learned about Valentine's Day in school and we have to do a special project for homework." She finally admitted as she brushed off her boots on the colorful welcome mat outside their door.

"Aye, lass is that so?" Killian quizzed while taking out a silver key from his black leather jacket pocket and turning it in the lock.

Before he knew it, upon opening the door, Mara kicked off her sparkly silver boots, threw her purple jansport backpack and pink coat onto the floor, and then raced into the kitchen.

Killian could sense her avoiding anymore of his questions about her day, and now he is worried why she feels so uneasy about Valentine's Day.

He meticulously hung Mara's coast on the coat rack, placed her, now dripping, snow covered boots on the mat, and began to take off his own winter gear before joining his daughter in the kitchen.

Mara was found to be creatively attempting to reach a mug in the cabinet as he noticed that she had somehow managed to climb onto the counter from the nearby barstool. Her being too little to access the mugs wasn't going to stop her apparently.

Killian rushed over to his daughter in a mid-balancing act as she pulled her weight up into the tall cabinet and reached out for a red ceramic mug.

"Whoa, Mara, be careful there. What do you think you're doing?" He quickly demanded as his protective fatherly instincts immediately took over.

She abruptly stopped what she was doing and innocently replied "I just wanted some hot cocoa, daddy."

He carefully began to lift her off of the kitchen counter and placed her back onto the floor before saying "Mara you know better to climb up here. You could have fallen and gotten yourself hurt. Next time ask someone to help you. I was coming in right behind you, so you could have asked me instead of doing it all by yourself." He said sternly making sure his daughter learned from this experience.

"Sorry daddy" Mara apologetically responded as she faintly swayed back and forth in place.

"It's fine now, Mara, but next time remember to ask an adult" He advised, but reluctantly tended to her request of hot cocoa, he began to make himself and her a batch.

After lifting Mara up onto the island barstool, and placing two mugs in front of them, he poured them some warm, delicious cocoa and did the final touch of sprinkling some marshmallows and cinnamon on top.

After the father-daughter duo were both content from drinking their hot chocolate, Killian decided to bring the Valentine's day homework assignment up again.

"Mara, so what exactly is this special project that you must do for Valentine's Day?" He quizzed, after setting his now empty mug down on the counter.

"I have to make a box to hold Valentine's cards and candy and it has to be decorated too." She answered back inbetween the last couple sips of her beverage.

Now, he knew all about Valentine's Day as Emma had taught him about this new custom and they shared the holiday together in the years following their marriage, but he was unaware of what schoolchildren were required to do and make for this sort of special holiday box.

His thoughts were preoccupied with ideas of how to obtain a worthy box to be used for this Valentine's day celebration at Mara's school. He could go out and buy one at the store, he could raid his and Emma's closet to she if she had some empty shoe boxes laying around, but then he thought of the perfect idea.

"Lass, I think it's your lucky day! I have the best idea for this Valentine's day box. Follow me." He enthusiastically beamed, as he took his daughter's hand and began to lead her outside into the backyard.

"Where are we going, daddy?" She curiously managed to ask just as they were finished racing to their destination.

"It's a surprise, you'll see soon enough. Wait patiently my dear Mara." He vaguely answered as he began to turn the combination lock that was around the little wooden shed's double doors.

Inside the shed was adorned with dust and cobwebs, as Emma and him had not entered this shed in awhile and it was mainly used for storage of tools, things from the Jolly Roger, and other objects.

Killian had entered the shed first and batted away all the cobwebs in his path to make Mara a clean trail. He was looking for something in particular and was on a mission to find it in all of the surrounding mess.

"Ah ha! I found it." He excitedly exclaimed as he pulled out a small wooden chest from under a stack of miscellaneous tools, and an old gardening hose, from inside a broken, rusty red wheelbarrow.

"What's that?" Mara asked, marveling at the object in her father's grasp.

"This, my dear, is your dad's old sea chest. It has accompanied me during many of my past journeys on the Jolly." He recounted, remembering his old seafaring days across the realms.

"It's so cool! Can I use it for my Valentine's box for school? Pretty please daddy?" She politely requested, failing to hide her excitement.

"Why, of course, Love! I couldn't see a better use of this then being your Valentine's Day box" Killian pointed out, as he then transferred the small, wooden box into the hands of his, now-delighted, daughter.

After locking the shed back up, the father-daughter team went back into the much needed warmth of their house and sat down in the living room by the fire to work on transforming the plain wooden sea chest into a pink and glittery Valentine's Day box.

Mara left Killain for a second, as she eagerly bounded upstairs into her room to grab all the arts and crafts supplies as she could. She managed to collect a plethora of pink, red, and white construction paper, heart stickers, washable markers, and various colors of glitter glue before heading back downstairs.

After about an hour of working on the box, both Mara and Killian thought it looked quite acceptable to be a decorated and functioning Valentine's box. Killian was very impressed at his daughter's craftiness as he had let her take this project on the way she wanted. He admired their creation which was completely covered in pink paper, decked out with different sized red and white hearts, and splattered with silver and gold glitter glue.

His sea chest was completely unrecognizable which was quite humorous. All Killian could think of was how embarrassed and upset his past self would be at defacing his beloved sea chest, but now that he had Emma and Mara, a true family, nothing else mattered to him but their happiness.

He proudly took the lovely sight in of Mara in such a blissful state after being happy with the end product of their labor.

Mara looked up at her father, she must have noticed him staring, and she tilted her head slightly out of curiosity before asking a certain question.

"Daddy what does having a Valentine mean?"

This question had caught him off guard as he had already thought that the kids in her class had learned about this holiday earlier this week, but apparently he had been wrong.

He nervously fidgeted in his seat on the couch, as he began to think of how to even explain the holiday of love to his young daughter. However, he eventually gained the courage and began to speak.

"Well, Love, Valentine's Day is all about celebrating the people that you love. For example, your mother is my Valentine, and we usually spend the whole day together and then I make her a special dinner with candles, flowers, chocolates, and a bunch of yummy food that I know is her favorite. I believe the lore is that there's this little flying baby that shoots people with magical love arrows, but no need to worry about that because it's just a myth." He jokingly assured.

She spent a minute to take everything that her father had to explain about Valentines Day in, but she was still a tad unsure about it all.

"So, do Valentines have to be a mommy and a daddy?" She innocently inquired, after all, this question seemed logical to any young child.

"Oh, of course not, little lass. A Valentine can be anyone." Killian correctively assured his puzzled daughter.

She remained quiet for some time after, but to Killian's dismay she still seemed rather down.

"Why, what's wrong now, Love? I didn't upset you, did I?" He calmly expressed as he reached out to rub her back.

"Well, I don't even have a Valentine, so I can't do Valentine's Day then." She shakingly replied, almost on the verge of tears.

"Hey." He said, tilting her chin up, "Can I be your Valentine? It would be my honor." He announced before getting off the couch and bowing to ask his little princess this special question.

"Really?!" She grinned, bouncing in her seat.

"Why of course, I'd love to! Plus, I'm sure if you ask your mom once she gets home from work, she would gladly be your Valentine as well." He added trying to lift Mara's spirits even more.

"Good idea, daddy! Now I will have two. I'm going to make you guys cards right now!" She happily exclaimed before taking her craft bag back upstairs to her room.

Killian beamed as he watched his daughter rush upstairs, he sure couldn't think of any person who wouldn't be Mara's Valentine. What worried him now was the thought that had suddenly popped into his head... _Oh boy, what am I going to do that Valentine's Day when Mara grows up and gets a boyfriend?_ But, thankfully, he regained his calm composure, as he then realized that day would be many and many of years in the future if he could help it. The only thing now that he was concerned with was that he should start planning his special Valentine's date for both of his Valentines: Emma and Mara, as it only is just a couple days away.

 **(A/N While I was writing this, I found out the news that OUAT is cancelled. As much as I am sad to see the show go, I'm still grateful that it had such a positive influence on my life and I consider it to be one of my all-time favorite shows. Thanks to things like fan fiction, shows that are no more can be brought to life by the fans, and that is exactly what I plan to do, as I will remain to continue writing and reading ouat fics. I'm so thankful for the ouat community, you guys rock! RIP ouat, you will be missed.)**


	7. Lost Girl

It was a calm and cool summer night in the middle of June in Storybrooke, Killian Jones; however, did not share the same feeling of calmness as the outside atmosphere as he paced around Emma and his bedroom.

"Honey, it's going to be fine. Mara is fifteen and can totally handle herself on her first date tonight." Emma reassured her heavily concerned husband as her eyes followed him back and forth.

Just a few days earlier Mara had informed her that she had asked Wesley, Cinderella and Shawn's sixteen-year-old son, out on a date. Emma was so proud of her daughter to have the courage to initiate asking her crush out on a date. She had known for some time that Mara liked Wesley, so she couldn't have been happier; but Killian on the other hand, was taking this situation a bit out of proportion.

"Swan, we don't know this Wesley kid at all. How am I supposed to entrust him with taking my daughter out tonight? For all we know he could be a horrid driver and could drive Mara off the bloody road!" Killian exclaimed, his voice rising with concern for the safety of his teenage daughter.

"Ok, calm down there mister 'overprotective father'. First of all, Mara is _our_ daughter and second, I trust her and Wesley will arrive safe and sound at Tony's restaurant. She is fifteen now Killian, she deserves to experience these things. Plus, it's her first date and they're going to a public place then coming straight back, not much is going to happen, that I'm sure you're also worried about." Emma concluded as she got up from sitting on their king size bed.

This stopped Killian in his tracks.

"Aye, you may be right, but I'm still her father and have the right to be concerned about this matter at hand. I thought I was ready for her teenage years, but boy was I wrong." He confessed.

Emma came up to him and put her arms around him in a comforting hug.

"Now that is something I can agree with. It is harder now than just toting her around in a wagon when she was five and playing princesses and pirates when she was ten, but she's still is our little girl, Killian, and we raised her well, so there's nothing to worry about." She sympathized.

Mara was completely oblivious to the conversation her parents were having about her two rooms down; all she could think about was her impending date with Wesley. Even though he was a grade above her at Storybrooke High, that didn't impede her determination to ask him out. It was a rather bold move of her to do so, as he was pretty much considered to be the most popular guy at school and as soon as she made her move, most girls at school gave her dirty looks. Mara was not fazed by any of this, she did not care about what others thought, she had liked Wesley for some time, so she was going to do something about it if he didn't.

She was standing in front of the mirror holding a different colored dress in each hand. She was in a deep self-debate on whether she should wear a simpler blue dress or a lacey green dress on her date tonight. The green dress would match her eyes, but the blue dress was more comfortable. Throwing the green dress on her four-post bed, it had seemed that her mind was made up. She slipped into the blue dress then went over to her vanity set, applied some subtle traces of mascara and blush as well as curled her raven hair in beachy waves.

Feeling satisfied with her appearance, Mara made her way out of her room and gracefully guided herself, with the help of the banister, downstairs. To her surprise, she had found her mother and father waiting together on the couch in the family room.

Her mother let out a soft gasp at the sight of her daughter, she looked so beautiful and was practically glowing. Killian was too overcome by his daughter's presence he began to tear up a little. He had realized that his daughter was all grown up now.

"So, how do I look?" Mara nervously questioned as she stepped down from the last step.

"Mara you look absolutely beautiful, dear." Emma beamed and got up to hug her daughter.

Killian followed suit, but still had not said anything as he was left speechless.

"Dad, any comments? Do you not like the dress or something? I knew I should have went with the green one, I'll just go back and-" Mara's rambling was cut off.

"Love, there is no need for that. You are quite a stunning sight, my dear." He passionately declared as he stroked her cheek.

Suddenly, a loud buzz sounded off in Mara's black leather purse that abruptly interrupted this special moment.

Mara pulled out her cell phone and noticed that she had received an alert that it was 6:15pm.

"Oh shoot, I got to go! I told Wesley that I'd meet him at Granny's at 6:30 so he could drive us to Tony's." Mara stressed as she rushed to put on and strap her white leather sandals.

"Now Mara, remember to be safe tonight and make sure to be home before 10 o'clock. Understood?" Killian noted as he stepped back into over brooding father mode.

"Also kid, remember to have fun and here is some money to split the bill." Emma interjected as she handed Mara some cash.

Mara smiled as she glanced between her parents.

"To answer you both, I will. And thanks mom." She mentioned looking up and smiling after she zipped open her wallet placing the money safely inside.

Just like that, their fifteen-year-old daughter was out the door and on her way to go on her first date. Emma and Killian continued to stand by the door for a few minutes afterward hand in hand still coming to terms with letting their daughter go.

Emma noticed that Killian was still looking slightly tense, so she pulled him away to join her back on the couch. Cuddling up beside him she tried to ease his looming concern.

"Come on Killian, everything will be smooth sailing for Mara. Plus, now that we are alone I wonder, whatever we shall do?" Emma smirked, which seemed to intrigue her husband.

"Aye Swan, whatever shall we do?" He responded raising his brows.

Meanwhile, Mara was making the short journey towards Granny's. She couldn't help but smile as her giddiness from thinking about Wesley and her date overcame her. The streetlights upon main street highlighted her face as she swept her hair aside after the summer breeze brushed across her face.

As she turned her head slightly, something peculiar came into her line of sight that left her completely shocked. There standing in the parking lot across from Granny's Diner was none other than Wesley standing outside from his car kissing another girl. Mara, now heartbroken at this display unfolding in front of her, was now in tears. She could not believe Wesley would do this to her. Anger and embarrassment boiled up inside of her and she immediately bolted away to a location unknown.

Back at the house Killian kept glancing at the clock as it soon dawned closer to 10pm. Emma was drifting off to sleep as she laid next to him in their bed.

"Swan, wake up. It's 10:01 and Mara isn't back yet." He spoke out, as he gently nudged her side to side.

Emma sluggishly rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and slowly sat up.

"Hmm, what? 10:01, really Killian? She is one minute past curfew, I'm sure she is halfway home right now. Give the girl some wiggle room." She pointed out, trying to convince her husband that he was worrying about nothing.

They both got up from bed and began to get ready to welcome back their daughter as they then went downstairs to wait for her on the couch where she had left them.

However, as the clock hit 10:25, this set both parents into a panic. They were now very concerned with the location of their daughter since there was still no sign of her.

"Swan, you and I both know this is very unlike Mara to be twenty-five minutes late. She always abides by our rules. Something has to have happened." Killian pressed as he could sense something was not right.

"Yeah, you're right. Mara would have been here by now. I've texted her three minutes ago and she hasn't even read it. Something is most definitely wrong. Let's go find out what." Emma declared as they both got up and rushed out to the yellow bug that was parked outside.

The first destination on their mission to find their daughter was Tony's Italian Restaurant, where the date was set to take place. The brakes on the bug screeched to a halt as it was quickly parked in the adjacent lot.

Emma and Killian entered the establishment and spilt up, one going to the right and the other going to the left, to scout out the place with hopes of stumbling upon their daughter. After some time of scouring the place, they met back up at the front.

"Seems to be no sign of her, Love. Where else could she be?" Killian observed admitting defeat.

"Well, we know she was with Wesley, so let's pay Ashley and Shawn a visit. They may have ended up there." Emma proposed, her sheriff skills showing.

The duo then hopped back into the car and sped their way down the road with hopes to locating their missing daughter. Stepping out and onto the curb in front of Wesley's home, they stormed up to the front porch and Killian knocked three times with the brass door knocker that was adorned on the cherry red door.

A cheery Ashley answered, but she quickly changed her mood as she was confused to why the Jones' were at her door.

"Hello there, what brings you two here? Is there a problem or something?" She inquired, Shawn then stepped into the door frame up beside her.

"A problem? Oh yes, I'd say we have quite the problem." Killian fumed and advanced forward, as he was in a desperate frenzy to know the whereabouts of Mara.

"Woah, calm down there Killian." Emma addressed, as she extended her arm in between her husband and the door.

"I'm really sorry about this intrusion so late at night, but do you guys happen to know where Mara and Wesley are? Are they here, or has he texted you where they are, because Mara is not home yet and is not responding to any of my texts or calls." Emma calmly informed them.

Both Ashley and Shawn displayed blank looks on their faces as Emma spoke out, showing their cluelessness to the situation.

"You guys don't know anything about this do you?" Emma sighed, as she could tell by their vacant expressions that they were unaware that their son had even planned to meet their daughter.

"No, I'm sorry. Wesley never mentioned anything about Mara as he left earlier. He just said he was meeting up with Nicole. He isn't back home yet, but I could call him for you if you'd like." Ashley expressed, trying to help.

"If Wesley never planned to go out with Mara tonight, then there's no way he would be with her now. What the bloody hell happened tonight? Sorry, but we really have to go; however, I'll be back later to discuss your son alright." Killian snapped before turning around and heading back to continue their search.

Once back in the car, Emma huffed out in distress, but she tried to logically go about the situation at hand.

"Okay, so Wesley must have had stood Mara up or something along those lines, which means she's probably very emotional and heartbroken right now. So where would she go?" She looked to her husband for a response.

"That boy. I swear after we find her I'm going to-"

"Killian focus! As much as I am upset with Wesley we _have_ to think about the matter at hand. Where would Mara go in a state that she is most likely in?" Emma interjected as she placed her hand on top of his to halt his heated rant.

"Ariel's. She's probably there." Killian confidently stated.

"Of course, you're absolutely right. She and Melody have been friends forever, she needs someone to confide in right now. Let's go." Emma concluded as she slammed on the gas, sending both of them back into their seats.

They had arrived and were almost sure that their daughter would be found inside. This time Emma was the one to knock on the door. She had looked to her husband before to gain strength as this was their last hope.

Letting out a deep breath, Emma was greeted by both Ariel and Eric.

"Emma. Killian. What a pleasant surprise. Come on in, something we can do for you?" Ariel welcomed and gestured them inside.

Emma and Killian hesitantly stepped inside their foyer and looked around for any signs of their daughter. Ariel and Eric noticed their unusual behavior and questioned their hasty visit.

"So, is anything wrong? Why the sudden late night visit?" Eric remarked as he shut the front door behind them.

"Is Melody home by any chance? And is Mara here either?" Killian inquired.

"Yes, Melody is here. She is in her room. I haven't seen Mara though. I can call Melody down if you need to speak with her." Ariel suggested, noticing the sense of uneasiness between Emma and Killian afterwards.

"If you don't mind. Mara did not arrive home yet from her outing tonight and hasn't been responding to us. Maybe Melody might know where she is or might have heard from her earlier." Emma hoped.

Soon Melody came bounding down the stairs in her pajamas.

"Hey Mr. and Mrs. Jones, what brings you guys here?" Melody bubbly asked out.

"We were actually wondering, Melody, if you have seen or heard from Mara lately?" Killian inquisitively questioned.

"Not since this afternoon when she snapped me pictures of her deciding between dresses. I'm sorry. Is something wrong with Mara?" She disclosed.

Ariel went to go stand behind her daughter and gently rested her arms around Melody's neck out of comfort.

"I'm afraid they don't know where Mara is, sweetheart, and were hoping she had contacted you." Ariel informed her daughter.

"Oh, I'm sorry I couldn't help, but I hope you find her soon. I did text her to see how her date went, but she still hasn't gotten back." Melody worriedly mentioned out of concern for her missing friend.

"Thanks for the help, but we have to get back to searching." Emma claimed, reaching for the doorknob.

"No problem. We hope you find her. Let us know if you need anything else or when you find her." Eric implored, concern straining in his voice. He could not imagine what Emma and Killian were going through right now. Just picturing Melody lost and nowhere to be found this late at night is something that he wouldn't wish upon any parent.

It was then 11pm when Emma and Killian left Ariel and Eric's home, and the couple were even more panicked as they had been searching all night to no avail.

Emma was now crying from the stress that she had been put through with her daughter lost and all alone somewhere in Storybrooke.

"Swan, I know this night has been taxing on us both, and I am as tired and aggravated as you are from our frustrating search, but I may know one more place she might be. May I?" Killian offered, trying to lift his wife's spirits.

Killian was now at the wheel and drove straight to where he hopefully thought his daughter would go in times like these… The docks.

Emma immediately looked up to her husband as they parked, she realized that he was a genius. The couple; however, stayed silent as they prayed that their daughter would be here.

The sea always calmed Killian down, and he knew that Mara always enjoyed her time spent on the Jolly Roger. She had taken after him in that aspect, so he was now counting on her to go to the sea for comfort.

They quietly made their way aboard the ship, anxious to find their missing daughter once and for all. At first, she was nowhere to be seen on the deck of the ship, so they made their way down below.

What they had found was a sight that made them both let out a sigh of relief, as Mara was discovered to be asleep in the bed in Killian's captain's quarters. As they walked closer, they could tell that she had been crying most of the night, as the pillow and blankets were still moist around her and her face was still red.

"She must be exhausted." Emma whispered, trying not to wake her peacefully sleeping daughter.

"Aye, we should probably take her home though. It's been a long night for us all." Killian advised maintaining a soft tone.

Emma nodded, and Killian proceeded to lift his daughter in his arms and carried her back to the deck of the Jolly as Emma followed. Thinking to himself, Killian was recalling how grown up his daughter now was, but holding her in his arms again made him remember how she will always be his little girl. A fond smile graced upon his face as he set a still sleeping Mara down in the back seat of the yellow bug.

They were relieved to finally be able to journey home with a safe Mara in tow. She had continued to sleep the whole ride home. Killian and Emma couldn't help themselves but to consistently glance back to keep a close eye on her as they drove, just feeling blessed that they had found her.

As they arrived back to their familiar home, Killian picked Mara up one last time with a huff and carried her upstairs back to her own bed where she belonged. Sure, there would be quite a story to tell when she woke, but that was something that would be dealt with later. All that mattered was that their little girl was back home safe and sound.


End file.
